Due to a power outage in the Kitsilano Point area, all classes and events are cancelled today (Sunday, January 12th, 2014). This includes:
Orff
Brain Boosters
Brain Boosters Math/MPM
as well as the Bjorn & Lori Hareid Senior Secondary Competiton Winners’ Recital.
We apologize for any inconvenience and thank you for your understanding.
Vancouver New Music, in partnership with the Vancouver Academy of Music presents a new edition of Sonic Playground on Saturday, January 26, 2014 at 10 AM. This interactive, improvisational and educational music program is a FREE event, open to children 8 – 12 years old, hosted at the Vancouver Academy of Music (1270 Chestnut Street, Vancouver). Devised by Sound Out Loud (Justin Dervies and Robyn Jacob), these Vancouver-based musicians and educators will also lead the workshop.
The four-hour program is designed as an introduction to sound improvisation techniques; it will entail a series of fun confidence building games and sonic awareness exercises, all conducted in a group setting. Participants are encouraged to freely produce sound utilizing traditional musical instruments, as well as the voice and body, and noise making toys that attendees can bring to the session. The auditory approaches to be explored are meant to provide a solid grounding in sonic communication and musical language.
Music experience is not required; some instruments will be available at the workshop, however participants are welcome to bring an instrument, if they have one.
Space is limited, and reservations are recommended: email [email protected] or call 604.633.0861 by Thursday, January 24, 2014 before 5:00 PM.
Justin Devries is a drummer interested in electronic and Balinese music and is an avid researcher of music from all corners of the globe.
Robyn Jacob has 10 years of experience teaching piano, music theory, and composition as well as contemporary music courses. Jacob performs with her solo project Fist Full o’ Snacks and with group projects for Gamelan Gita Asmara, Publik Secrets, and Gamelan Bike Bike. She holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of British Columbia.
ABOUT VANCOUVER NEW MUSIC
Celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2013, Vancouver New Music is dedicated to exploring and contextualizing new music and sonic art, through concert presentations, festival, community, and workshop events. VNM regularly commissions and premieres new works by Canadian composers, presents leading and emerging electroacoustic and electronic music artists, international composers and performers, sound installations and music theatre. VNM presents an annual festival that focuses each year on a theme within the new music landscape, and explores the interaction of contemporary music with other disciplines such as theatre, installation and media arts. Other activities include lectures and workshops with visiting artists, ensemble workshops and presentations open to the community, and other sound art and new music related community events.
Vancouver Academy of Music is pleased to announce two new elementary enrichment programs in Language Arts. The cognitive link between music and writing is undeniable, and is aptly demonstrated with countless musical masterpieces that have been directly influenced by seminal works of literature. Taught by a certified elementary teacher, Reading Power and Writer’s Circle help students improve their reading comprehension and writing skills using provincial curriculum guidelines and highly-acclaimed, best practices programs. Recommended for all students in independent or public elementary schools and for students preparing for the Foundations Skills Assessment (FSA) tests in February or entrance examinations (SSATs, independent school entrance exam).
Reading Power and Language Arts. Saturday 2:00pm – 2:45pm ($260 per semester*)
Reading comprehension is tested on most entrance exams for elementary and secondary schools and every year during the Foundation Skills Assessment Test (FSAs) for all students in Grades 4 and 7 by the B.C. provincial government. This course is ideal for students who are interested in improving their reading, strengthening their comprehension and developing an appreciation for literature. Students will learn effective strategies to build their reading comprehension and language art skills using Adrienne Gear’s Reading Power and the Reading 44 program developed by the North Vancouver School District #44. Taught by a trained elementary teacher. Ages 8 and up or by permission from instructor.
Writer’s Circle. Saturday 2:45pm – 3:30pm ($260 per semester*)
In this course, students will actively explore the elements of powerful writing that will help them through their school career and beyond. Strategies will include The 6 Traits of Writing and Adrienne Gear’s Writing Power. Lessons will look at the importance of ideas, organization, voice, word choice, sentence fluency, conventions and the presentation of their written work. Time will be set aside each class to experience a variety of genres and students will produce short-story writing pieces to add to their writing portfolio. Taught by a trained elementary teacher. Ages 8 and up or by permission from instructor.
*These fees do not include the $75 registration fee.
Contact us at the front desk to register. Space is limited, so register today!
The Koerner Quartet would like to invite you to our second concert of the season on Sunday, December 8th, 2pm at the Koerner Recital Hall.
It is a wonderful opportunity to listen and enjoy an afternoon of chamber music with VAM faculty members Nicholas Wright, Jason Ho, Marcus Takizawa, and Executive Director of VAM, Joseph Elworthy.
We are happy to continue offering free admission to these events. Festival seating applies to this concert and seats will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis.
The quartet is pleased to be joined by pianist Tian-Yu Zhou, featured student of VAM’s Rising Star Mentorship program, to perform Schumann’s Piano Quintet.
We will also be performing Haydn’s Quartet Opus 76, No. 4, and Schubert’s Quartet ‘Death and the Maiden’.
To give you an idea of what to expect, here is an excerpt from a live recording from our concert on October 18th:
We look forward to seeing you at the concert. Thank you for your support!
Announcing a portion of our competitions for the 2013-14 school year!
The Young Composers’ Competition is a new competition this year, and gives aspiring composers a chance to explore the art of composition further and a chance to hear their own work being performed by the VAM Symphony Orchestra.
Young Composers Competition Brochure
The VAMSO Provincial Concert Competition is new as well, and invites students from all over BC to compete for a chance to perform a movement of a concerto of their choice with the VAM Symphony Orchestra live on the Orpheum Theatre stage. This competition is open to students playing any instrument (voice included) who resides in BC.
VAMSO Concerto Competition Brochure
Our Senior Secondary Competition is back with a focus on Strings. Open to all secondary school students in BC, the Bjorn & Lori Hareid Annual Senior Secondary Competition is designed to recognize young and talented musicians and support their future endeavours.
Senior Secondary Strings Competition
Interested in applying for a competition? Download one of brochures and mail it along with your payment to VAM!
Good luck to all applying!
The Koerner Quartet would like to invite you to the first concert of our 2013/2014 season on Friday, October 18th, at 7:30pm.
As the ensemble-in-residence at the Vancouver Academy of Music, the Koerner Quartet fulfills a mandate to promote the appreciation of chamber music by presenting a series of four concerts per season which are offered free to the public. Three performances feature a guest artist from VAM’s distinguished faculty, with one concert spotlighting an exceptional VAM student in the Rising Star Mentorship program. The Koerner Quartet takes its name from one of VAM’s founders, Ms Ibby Koerner, the namesake for the school’s performance venue, Koerner Recital Hall.
We are pleased to be joined by Hanh Nguyen, guitar, to perform Boccherini’s Guitar Quintet. We will also be performing works by Debussy and Beethoven. This concert is at the Koerner Recital Hall, 1270 Chestnut Street, Vancouver, BC.
Seating for all our concerts will be complimentary for all VAM members and students (a more elegant way of saying “our concerts are free!”). Festival seating will apply to all our concerts. To reserve your seats, we ask that you register online at koernerquartet.com
As a VAM member, this is a wonderful opportunity to listen to world-class music and for students, it is a chance to observe music making at its highest level.
We hope to see you at our show!
The Koerner Quartet
Joseph Elworthy, Nicholas Wright, Jason Ho, Marcus Takizawa
koernerquartet.com
Facebook Page: http://on.fb.me/16ILBPw
Four internationally renowned harpists take to the stage with an eclectic and thrilling combination of heavenly classics and sensual Brazilian music, Thursday, August 1 at 7 p.m. at Koerner Recital Hall at the Vancouver Academy of Music, 1270 Chestnut Street, Vancouver. Tickets $20/25 at the door.
All four artists are faculty members of the prestigious Canadian International Summer Harp Institute (CISHI) which attracts students from around the world eager for two weeks of intensive training with these acclaimed performers and teachers.
The concert will feature a delightful combination of classical and Brazilian music — in harp solos and harp ensembles.
“This is a rare opportunity for people to hear these incredible players in an intimate setting, and playing a wonderful variety of music,” said Institute co-founder and Vancouver Symphony principal harpist Elizabeth Volpé Bligh.
Cristina Braga has turned the harp world upside down with her sensual renditions of South American bossa nova classics. With her sultry voice and her powerful and rhythmic harp playing, she wowed MusicFest Vancouver audiences last year with her near-sold-out performance at Christ Church Cathedral.
The principal harpist with the Rio de Janeiro Municipal Theatre Symphony Orchestra has 13 recordings and is considered the world’s leading harp player of Brazilian music. Cristina Braga has performed as soloist with numerous orchestras and has performed and recorded with many leading Brazilian singers. She regularly tours the US, Europe and Japan.
The incomparable Judy Loman is widely recognized as one of the world’s foremost harp virtuosos, having won the admiration of audiences and critics alike across Canada, the United States, Europe and Japan. She has appeared as a guest artist with numerous orchestras including the BBC Symphony. In addition, she was principal harpist with the Toronto Symphony for 43 years and featured as soloist in Toronto and on tour. A prolific recording artist, Judy Loman has had numerous works written for her, many of which have become new “standards” for harpists worldwide.
Completing the quartet are the Institute’s co-founders Elizabeth Volpé Bligh and Gianetta Baril.
Juno award-winning harpist Gianetta Baril has had a distinguished career for over 30 years. While concertizing throughout Germany, France, England, Poland, and the Czech Republic, she consistently received glowing praise for her charming presence, dramatic artistry and spectacular technique. Career highlights include performances behind the Iron Curtain, in some of the great concert halls of Europe and at the World Harp Congresses in Vienna and Paris, as well as a soloist for the Queen, Prince Charles and the late Lady Diana.
Elizabeth Volpé Bligh has been principal harpist of the Vancouver Symphony for 31 years and harp instructor at UBC almost as long. Her career includes concerto performances with the Grammy-winning VSO and other orchestras, chamber music concerts, music festivals, movie soundtracks, recordings and a solo recital at the International Harp Workshop in Crea, Italy in 2012. She has premiered several Canadian works written for her, notably Michael Conway Baker’s Harp Concerto, and will be premiering a new piece by Scott Good at the 2014 World Harp Congress in Sydney, Australia. Reviews have included “a harpist of great skill” (Ray Chatelin) and “achingly lovely playing” (Michael Scott).
A number of VAM students participated in this year’s Canadian Music Competition, which was held in Sherbooke, Quebec this past month. Congratulations to the students who placed below!
Olivia Cho (cello; Elworthy): 1st place, Strings 12 years
Albert Seo (cello; Elworthy): 1st place, Strings 14 years
Grace Sohn (cello; Elworthy): 2nd place, Strings 13 years
Tate Zawadiuk (cello; Thomson): 2nd place, Strings 15 to 18 years; 1st place, Chamber Music 17 years
Jack Li (clarinet; VAMIS): 2nd place, Winds 12 years
VAM is pleased to announce a return of its popular Soundfest Music camps, now with new programs!
For children ages 4 to 10, we are happy to bring back our Junior Soundfest summer music camp, featuring our Brain Boosters, Choir & Percussion Ensemble, and iPad Orchestra. This one-week, half-day program (four weeks available) is ideal for children of all skill levels and instruments!
New this year, we also have our Soundfest Orchestra Summer Music Camp for children ages 8 to 18. Ideal for those more serious musicians who want to hone their orchestra playing skills. In addition to intensive rehearsals, masterclasses and workshops with renowned faculty from the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and Vancouver Opera Orchestra, the week culminates in a co-production with Bard on the Beach’s Young Shakespereans’ Program of Midsummer Night’s Dream!
We’ve also partnered with local musician and music educator Rob Kirkham to present Rockband Soundfest summer music camp! Your child can live out their rock star fantasy in this week-long, half-day workshop (two weeks available). They’ll form their own band, learn how to write songs using Garageband and other digital recording software, and create their own paraphernalia to take home!
Lastly, we’ve brought back our popular Dancefest summer dance camp in a week-long, half-day format (two weeks available). Choose from the Morning Dancefest, aimed for children between 4 to 8 years of age (no experience required) or the Afternoon Dancefest, aimed for children ages 9 and above (previous ballet training required). Explore ballet along with other musical and artistic activities in the Morning Dancefest, and get into the nitty-gritty of ballet training with the Afternoon Dancefest.
Have questions? Check out summer-arts-camp.ca or give us a call at (604) 734-2301. Register online today before space runs out!
The Vancouver Academy of Music Opera Studio presents:
Susannah by Carlisle Floyd
Artistic Director, David Meek
Conductor, John Arsenault
Director, David Walsh
Choreographer, Damon Bradley Jang
Performances June 13, 14, 15 at 7:30 pm. June 16 at 2:00 pm
Written during the McCarthy era, Susannah is based loosely on the Apocryphal tale of Susannah and the Elders. In New Hope Valley, Tennessee, Susannah – a pretty and well-mannered young woman of humble origins – is faced with hostility from her church community. The opera opens at a square dance given by her church; a group of wives, jealous of Susannah’s beauty and the attention it brings from their husbands, are gossiping about her. Mrs. McLean, one of the wives, states that you can’t expect more from someone who was raised by her drunken brother. Finally, the Reverend Olin Blitch, newly arrived to lead the congregation, enters and asks Susannah to dance despite the gossip. Later that evening, Susannah tells her admirer Little Bat – son of Mrs. McLean and her husband, an elder of the church – about the dance; Little Bat leaves abruptly once her brother Sam returns from hunting.
The next morning Susannah is innocently bathing naked in the creek near her home; she is discovered by the elders, who are searching for a baptismal stream. They conceal their lust with outrage and tell the community of her wickedness. Susannah arrives at a church dinner that evening and is sent away, much to her confusion. Later, as she is pondering why she has been shunned, Little Bat tells her that the elders have denounced her for bathing in the nude, and admits that he was coerced into saying she seduced him.
Sam informs Susannah that she must make a public confession in order to be absolved. Though she claims she has nothing to confess, she goes to the service where Olin Blitch is preaching. When she is singled out to come forward, she runs away. Once the service has ended, Reverend Blitch goes to Susannah’s house and offers to pray for her soul; upon discovering that her brother is away, Blitch rapes her.
The next day Blitch, having discovered that Susannah was a virgin, comes to her and begs for forgiveness. He throws herself at Susannah’s mercy, but she refuses to forgive him. When Susannah tells Sam the story he threatens to kill Blitch; he leaves for the baptismal service, carrying his shotgun. Convinced that Susannah led her brother to murder, the community heads to her house to drive her out of the valley. However, Little Bat has warned her in advance, and when the vigilantes arrive she is waiting with a shotgun. They retreat, but she has effectively severed her ties with the community and her world.
(Synopsis adapted from Boosey & Hawkes website)
Tickets:
Adult $25.00
Students, Seniors $20.00
Tickets available at vam.ca, by phone at (604) 734-2301 or at Metro Theatre on the day of the performances.
